Sunday, October 31, 2010

I wasn't going to do an In My Mailbox post this week because I'm super busy with exam study and getting ready for NaNoWriMo (yes I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the first time ever my name is rebecca.abey if you want to be buddies); but I am very good at procrastination so here is my In My Mailbox post for this week:

So this week I got two books. One came in the mail for review and one I got from the library.

For some reason today my images won't upload so I found some book trailers on youtube instead.

So for review I got:

Cooking With Healthy Girl by Mandy Potter

And from the library I got:

Trackers by Patrick Carman

And that was my week in the way of books. Can't wait to see what everyone else got.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Summary: Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.
Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: a delicious songwriter-musician. They decide to be “friends-with-benefits.” But it’s Novan—with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog—that backs out.
EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves—and what’s really in their hearts.

Review: I loved this book to pieces. It is totally unique and hip. With a modern twist.

From the very first line I was definitely hooked into reading this one. EyeLeash is a novel in blog form in case you didn't realise it.

There were quite a few parts of this book that were totally relatable. I found myself nodding along and going yup I know what you mean there.

The characters were all pretty wicked. I liked Jade she was a funky chick. At times a little sex crazed but hey you can't have it all.

I reckon that you should definitely give this book a read because it is definitely a good one.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Emerson Watts didn’t even want to go to the new SoHo Stark Megastore grand opening. But someone needed to look out for her sister Frida, whose crush, British heartthrob Gabriel Luna, would be singing and signing autographs there—along with the newly appointed Face of Stark, teen supermodel sensation Nikki Howard.

How was Em to know that disaster would strike, changing her—and life as she’d known it—forever? One devastating accident later, and Em Watts, always the tomboy, never the party princess, is no longer herself. Literally.

Now getting her best friend Christopher to notice that she’s actually a girl is the least of Em’s problems.

But what Em’s pretty sure she’ll never be able to accept might just turn out to be the one thing that’s going to make her dream come true….

NIKKI HOWARD IS HERE TO STAYIt’s what’s outside that matters.

Review: Wow!!! Airhead is an amazing story. I loved it so much. I started reading through it on Thursday night and ended up staying up really late into the night to finish it. It is just that good of a book.

Firstly I am a massive sci-fi fan and this had a bit fo sci-fi which I totally loved!!!

Em is such a cool person I found her totally relatable. I love playing computer games and I'm a huge nerd just like her. I felt sorry for her when she ended up in Nikki's body but at the same time how cool would that be???

Airhead is such a perfect book to read. Seriously it is probably one of my favourite books of ALL TIME.

Airhead is definitely a really well written book and also the ending was such crazy ending I wanted to scream noooooooo don't end there!!! Now I really cannot wait to read Being Nikki, the sequel.

I definitely recommend that you read this book because you will utterly and completely love it. Just as I did.

*affiliates, when you buy this book we receive a small percentage of the price

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Summary: Retta Lee Jones is blessed with a beautiful voice and has big dreams of leaving her tiny Tennessee hometown. With a beaten down car, a pocketful of hard-earned waitressing money, and stars in her eyes, Retta sets out to make it big in Nashville. But the road to success isn’t a smooth one in a town filled with dreamers, and Retta begins to have doubts: can she make her mark while staying true to herslf?

Review: I really loved this book. I am a singer (not a country singer) so I found Retta to be pretty relatable. I loved her as a character and I truly loved reading her story. Suzanne Supplee is a magical writer and I thought that Somebody Everybody Listens To was such a sweet read that I sat down to start reading through it and ended up sitting down and reading the whole book.One thing I thought was really cool was that before each chapter there were little stories about some famous country singers.Other than that this is a great book and you should definitely check it out. This is the second book I've read of Suzanne Supplee's and her writing is so beautiful and her stories just seem so much more realistic than a lot of other authors. I look forward to future books she writes.

*affiliates, when you buy this book we receive a small percentage of the price

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Summary: I'm not one to sit around and wait for something to happen. I wanted a man. My Dating Profile Writing this book became an obsession with me. I want you to think, feel, eat, sleep and live the dating experiences I had over the course of a year. As you meet Sponge Tom, "Skip-To-My-Lou" Stew and Lame Joke Jim, I hope you recognize my determination to maintain my self respect and high standards in a relationship as well as the ability to find humor in any situation. The men I dated are all nice enough guys, I just took the opportunity to make light of their idiosyncrasies and things that happened in my relationships with them. With the help of my "advisory committee" I learn that physical appearance goes hand in hand with what's inside. Join me as I learn the ins and outs of online dating.

Review: This book is so funny. And incredibly interesting. When I read the description I knew I would enjoy this book. So basically, I wanted to read it for a change of pace.

As I'm getting married next month I thought this one would be really interesting to read to see what I was missing out on in the dating scene. And Annie Earley was a very interesting woman and she met some very interesting people online.

There's not much more that I can say about What Was I Thinking? Other than it is a really interesting and good light read. Anyone looking for a book about the not so great side of online dating then this book would definitely suit you.

I've read a few other reviews of this book after reading it and the ones I found were all negative which I thought was unfortunate but at the end of the day you cannot please everyone.

*affiliates, when you buy this book we receive a small percentage of the cost

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Summary: Gee ... I always wanted to write a book. I never thought I would but then again I could be wrong. Here is a collection of some of the past few years rants as broadcast on WDMT 102.3 The Mountain as part of my show Rising at Ten.

Review: This book was so good. I thought it would be alright but nope it was soo good. Jim Rising has got to be one of the coolest guys around.

The books is short but it is full of humour.

I found Jim Rising to be a fascinating guy and his book is pure genius. There's little else I can say about the book. Definitely check it out.

*affiliates, when you buy this book we receive a small percentage of the book

Monday, October 25, 2010

Rebecca and I are both finishing up our courses for the year in November and we want to have a little celebration. For this we were thinking of having a read-a-thon and giveaway. Basically, anyone who takes part in the giveaway will go into the draw to win some prizes (not decided how many yet). So what we wanted to know was are you guys keen and if you are what weekend in November would you prefer it to be? Let us know in the comments so we can get to planning this awesome event!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

Review: What a stunning conclusion! I was pretty blown away by how awesome Specials was. I think that Scott Westerfeld did a truly great job with Specials and the whole Uglies trilogy. I really love his writing and I can't believe I haven't read anything by him sooner.Tally was amazing, she is such a great heroine. I was really really happy with what she did in the end and I couldn't have made up a better ending myself.If you haven't read any of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld yet then you definitely should. They are too good not to miss!

*affiliates, when you buy a copy we receive a small percentage of the price

Friday, October 22, 2010

I'm a couple of days late with this but that doesn't matter because some of you might not know yet.

Angela Morrison, who is an amazing author if you haven't read any of her books yet then you definitely should. Has started a blog for the third book following the story of Michael and Leesie from Taken by Storm and Unbroken Connection. The special thing about Cayman Summer is that you'll actually get to follow along with Angela as she writes the book. Click the link at the bottom of the page or anywhere Cayman Summer appears and you'll be transported there. So go check it out!!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

You may have noticed over the last few days some of the book reviews we have posted have contained links to The Book Depository. We thought it would be a good idea to explain this. So, what it is, is that we asked you for feedback on putting in links to where you can buy the book. We have joined an affiliate programme for the Book Depository and we're linking them to most of our reviews. We chose the Book Depository because they have great prices on books and they offer free shipping to over 90 countries. Because we are affiliates this means we receive a very small percentage of the price you pay. What we are going to do is we're going to use that money to go towards more contests for you guys!!! So for now this is a trial thing and we'll see how we go!!

Summary: A young Hardy Belch, his cousin Mardi and his dog Tiny discover even problems can end up beautifully at Christmas.

Review: Another good book from author William G. Bentrim. The Christmas Knot features a younger Hardy Belch who appears in another of William's books. It was good to see Hardy again and if you haven't read The Adventures of Hardy Belch it doesn't matter too much if you read the Christmas Knot because there are no references to the previous book.

The illustrations are really good. They're not overly complicated so a young child can pay attention to them without getting too confused.

I really enjoyed the story and I think that young children will love it too. Not only is it an entertaining story relating to Christmas but it teaches a lesson as well.

The Christmas Knot is a nice little story that will be enjoyed by young children. It's definitely worth looking into.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Buy the book: The Book Depository*First Line: "The Iron King stood before me, magnificent in his beauty, silver hair whipping about like an unruly waterfall."Summary: May Contain Spoilers!Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.Review: Totally knockout stuff. I am in love with this series and I need to read the next book now. That sums up how I feel about the series. In a nutshell. But I should probably add some more to make it a substantial review.Where to start? How about with Ash. Oh man do I love Ash, he is just one of the most dreamy guys that I have ever read about. I'm not usually one to have crushes on characters from books, well very rarely anyway and Ash is just one character I can't get out of my head. He just seems so amazing and perfect in a cold, captivating way. I could go on about Ash forever, but I won't.It was good to see some familiar faces there too. I won't give away the plot of the book by telling you which familiar faces showed up but it was very awesome. Meghan was a gutsy girl as always and she just made the book a really enjoyable read.I believe that Julie Kagawa has managed to capture emotions and feelings so well in this book. She has weaved a magical world in which I would love to be a part of. There were so many times that I laughed and so many times I was on the verge of tears. At times I found myself yelling aloud at the characters wishing they could hear me. So amazing.On a final note, the ending!!!! It just blew me away completely and I can't wait for the next book. I'm going to go crazy just sitting around waiting for it because the ending left you hanging a little bit and for that I want to know more.If you haven't read this or The Iron King yet, you definitely should. It is an amazing series and one of my favourites for 2010.Source: NetGalley

*affiliates, when you purchase this book we receive a small percentage of the price.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Summary: Gorgeous. Popular.Perfect. Perfectly wrong.Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Review: I loved Uglies far better than Pretties. It just happened to be one of the best books I have read all year.

I like the Pretties world, it was almost as interesting as the Uglies world and the world of the outside.

Scott Westerfeld makes these books highly addictive and just brilliant.

I love Tally, I love David , I don't like Peris very much but Zane was pretty cool too.

I really love this series because I love this whole world and the whole idea of what if. What if we become these people in the future? It's just fascinating!!

*Affiliates, if you buy this book we receive a tiny percentage of the sales.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

I haven't done an IMM for a while because I've been super busy but this week I thought I'd do one because I got quite a few books in different ways. Instead of adding descriptions below the books I've linked all the titles to the books goodreads pages.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Summary: Coming of age amidst the seething unrest of the Civil War era, feisty fourteen-year-old Katie McCafferty infiltrates the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish organization, to rescue a lifelong friend. Under the guise of Dominick, a draft resister, Katie volunteers for a dangerous mission in hopes of preventing bloodshed. Katie risks job, family, and ultimately her very life to intervene. A series of tragedies challenge Katie's strength and ingenuity, and she faces a crisis of conscience. Can she balance her sense of justice with the law?

Review: Call Me Kate was something different for me. I'm not usually one to read historical fiction but I'm glad I read Call Me Kate because it was a pretty good read.

Katie had an unfortunate life but she coped well and that made her a great character. I also liked Con and Wynnie. They just seemed to be strong independent characters and it was refreshing to read a book where the main character didn't have to lean on someone else all the time.

There were some sad parts in Call Me Kate, particularly the ending but I found that made it all the more realistic. There were also some slow parts to the book but I didn't mind.

Overall, Call Me Kate is a really interesting read. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was still really enjoyable and gave a good insight into a life far different from my own. It's definitely worth a read.

Molly Roe is the pen name of Mary Garrity Slaby, a veteran language arts & reading teacher at Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School. Mary holds a Ph.D. in education from Temple University, and Pennsylvania teaching certification in six areas. She has pursued the hobby of genealogy for the past decade. Mary was born in Philadelphia, raised in Schuylkill County, and currently lives in Dallas, Pennsylvania with her husband, John. They are parents of two grown children, Melissa and John Garrett, cover illustrator of Call Me Kate. Digging into the past has given Mary newfound respect for her ancestors and a better understanding of history. Call Me Kate is the first in the author’s trilogy of historical novels loosely based on the lives of the strong women who preceded her. Visit Molly on facebook here. You can visit Molly at her blog here.